The future of Ostrava's Černá louka will be decided in September

Ostrava - The city of Ostrava should decide in September whether to follow the visions of the Dutch architectural studio Maxwan during the reconstruction of the exhibition grounds Černá louka, which won the international urban planning competition. Mayor Petr Kajnar (ČSSD) said this to journalists today. The transformation of Černá louka is a key project for which Ostrava is competing for the title of European Capital of Culture 2015.
    "We can work with the proposals that were awarded. This means that the city council can theoretically choose someone who came in second place and say that they will go with this proposal. Theoretically, we can also say that we will not follow any proposal," Kajnar stated.
    He added that he expects that the councilors will incline towards the winning proposal, which includes a park surrounded by buildings and was selected by a jury that also included experts. "Everyone considers the jury's selection to be fortunate and competent; there is a large consensus," said Kajnar. He added that the proposal, which currently exists only in an ideological form, will need to be developed further. The ideological concept does not, for example, address the connection of the transport infrastructure.
    According to plans, a new part of the city should be built on Černá louka in the future, and the establishment of a cultural and social cluster is anticipated. This will include a new concert hall, a city gallery, a music pavilion, a cultural incubator, schools, and new housing spaces.
    During their meeting today, the councilors approved awards for the awarded participants. The winner will receive 900,000 crowns, the second place will receive an award of 500,000 crowns, and the third will receive 400,000 crowns. An additional 125,000 crowns will be distributed among two more awarded proposals. Besides that, the council also approved the city's budget outlook related to preparations for the candidacy. The city previously declared that it is ready to allocate two billion crowns for the development of the Černá louka cluster.
    According to rough estimates, the reconstruction of Černá louka could cost more than 3.7 billion crowns. In addition to the city, it is expected that the region, the state, the European Union, and private investors will also contribute financially.
    In the second round of the competition for the European Capital of Culture 2015, Ostrava and Plzeň will compete on behalf of the Czech Republic. The winner will be known this September.